Soto Banjar [ Chicken Soup from Banjar ]

Here is another post of soto recipes! This time is a version of soto Ayam (Indonesian clear chicken soup). There are countless versions of soto ayam, the main ingredients are mostly the same, the one that makes it different from one to another is usually the kind of spices that you put in it. Soto Banjar is origin from Banjar ethnic from East Kalimantan but this soto is easy to be found on a street vendor almost everywhere in big cities in Indonesia. 

Basically this soto is a clear chicken soup with a hint of spices flavour. I remembered when I was still in elementary school, this is one of my favorite lunch menu on our humble canteen. It was simply a bowl of clear broth, rice, few strings of chicken (yeah strings, my lunch was that cheap!), a quarter piece of boiled egg, finely chopped cabbage and beansprout. It was dang good! One of simple stuff that made my childhood full of memories. 

Ingredients:

1 chicken (I used 2 complete chicken thighs since I prefer brown meat)

2,5 liter of water

3 clove buds

2 cardamom pods

4 cm cinnamon stick

1 cube of chicken broth (or 3 tsp of salt to taste)

½ tsp white pepper powder

½ tsp sugar

Ingredients to paste:

5 shallots

4 garlic

2 cm fresh ginger

½ tsp caraway seeds

2 tbsp oil

To garnish: 

125 gr rice vermicelli, blenched and drained 

10 potato patties (perkedel kentang)

1 scallion, chopped

4 boiled eggs, cut in half

fried shallots

kaffir lime (optional)

1. In a large pot, put chicken in water with clove, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, broth cube, white pepper powder and sugar, bring it to boil. Once it boils, reduce the heat and continue cooking. While the chicken heats, remove any fat or foam that collects on the top with a spoon and discard it.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the paste ingredients. Put shallots, garlic, ginger, caraway seeds and 2 tbsp oil in a food processor. Process it till it becomes a fine paste. 

3. Sautée the paste ingredients until it become fragrant and change color. 

4. Add the paste ingredients into the chicken broth. Continue cooking until the chicken meat is really tender. 

5. Take the chicken out of the broth and set aside. Shred the meat once it cools down. 

6. On a serving bowl, start to plate the vermicelli on the bottom of the bowl. Put the shredded chicken on top and pour the broth. Put a piece of potato patties, chopped scallion, half of boiled egg and fried shallots. Squirt a dash of kaffir lime juice on top. 

7. Et voila!

PS: If you want a clearer broth, filter the broth before serving by position a strainer or colander over a large bowl, then pour in the entire contents of the pot.

Happy Cooking!!